Preventing Horse Slaughter: A Look at the PMU Industry

Numbers of mares used for this industry vary country to country. However it is clearly in the tens of thousands, having dropped from over a hundred thousand a few years ago because of public awareness to the problems associated with using these animal based drugs.

The industry has cleaned up somewhat in the past years. Better regulations were put in place regarding keeping the stable clean and such. They are also using horses that will produce more marketable foals, however, as mentioned, the number of foals still greatly out numbers the demand for them.

There are alternative hormone replacement medications, including those made synthetically or from plants, such as yams. Unfortunately doctors are under pressure by the Pharmaceutical companies to encourage women to take their pills. Many doctors are not even aware of where these drugs come from.

Other Causes for Horse Slaughter

A horse is a big animal, not like a cat or dog, you cannot simply euthanize it and bury it in your back yard. Many people who own horses encounter a time when they cannot keep the animal and are forced to sell it. This is easy enough if it is a young, quality animal. It can be sold quickly. However for an older or crippled animal, no such buyer may be found. Thus the horse is either sold to the slaughter house or, more likely, sold at an auction where “meat buyers” attend. Some good horse end up going to slaughter simply because there are usually more horses sold at one of these lower end auctions, than there are buyers for.

Every year drought or financial hardships leaves some horse owners unable to care for their animals, this often sees them going to slaughter. Horses are luxuries, and when people cannot afford luxuries, they must get rid of them quick.

Sadly many horse owners breed their horse simply because they can. We have seen the results of this in the cat and dog industry, where millions of pets are euthanized every year because of over population. If horse owners want to stop needless slaughter of nice animals they need to practice more controlled breeding and encourage better ownership habits.

Final Thought

Horse meat is used for zoo animals as well as being shipped for sale in Europe and Japan. However it must be noted that zoos and foreign buyers are not to blame for horses being slaughtered. The responsibility must lie in the hands of the horse industry itself, or as with PMU foals, with the women who support the industry by demanding products made from Pregnant Mare Urine.